"A dream come true. A breath of fresh air. Something good is happening. A reverential retelling of the book of Matthew. It takes the Bible's passionate intensity and directness for contemporary meaning into the popular vein without diluting it." —Contemporary Christian Music

Cast: large and variable with male and female roles to suit your group, or by doubling with as few as 5. This "Greatest Story Ever Retold" is based on the book The Cotton Patch Version of Matthew and John by Clarence Jordan in which the Gospel is presented in a setting of rural Georgia with country music songs, the final and perhaps best work of Harry Chapin. As this Gospel begins, they sing that "Somethin's a-brewin' in Gainesville." Herod is the mayor of Atlanta and, inevitably, Christ is lynched by local thugs only to rise again. Drama critics loved this show and so did a broad spectrum of religious commentators. One ext. set. Approximate Running Time: 1 hour, 45 minutes.

Middle School | High School | College and Adult | Family (All Audiences)

Performing Group:

High Schools | College Theatre | Community Theatre | Stock & Lort

ISBN (10):

0871292440

Biographies

Harry Chapin was born on December 7, 1942, and grew up in New York near the Hudson River Piers and then Brooklyn Heights. In 1957, influenced by The Weavers at Carnegie Hall album, he started to learn guitar and banjo, and in 1958 he and his brothers, Tom and Steve, started a band, playing in the neighborhood. In the mid-1960s ...More

Tom Key has served as Producing Artistic Director since 1995 of downtown Atlanta's acclaimed Theatrical Outfit, a professional company giving dramatic voice to the spiritual themes of the American South. In addition to conceiving Cotton Patch Gospel as a one-man show, Key has performed nationally the musical which it inspired, earning two Dramalogue Awards for outstanding Achievement in Theater. ...More

As author/director, Russell Treyz collaborated with the late songwriter Harry Chapin on the Broadway musical Cotton Patch Gospel, published by Dramatic Publishing in 1982. He has directed Orlando Shakespeare Festival productions of Around the World in 80 Days; Twelfth Night; Henry IV, Part I; Othello; As You Like It; Julius Caesar and Hamlet. He has also directed King John at ...More

Rights & Availability

This title can be licensed/sold throughout the world * Please note that royalties quoted in our catalog are intended for K-12 schools with a standard curriculum only. All other producing groups must submit a completedapplication.